《Galaxy Wars & Clichés》


 Chapter 1

    Inside a room, a naked young boy with dark hair suddenly woke up and as his eyes opened, he could see that he was inside a stasis pod full of red liquid.


    ''What is this? Where am I? This liquid, am I inside a stasis pod?'' This young boy was confused as he checked his surroundings wich wasnt much as the room had plain white walls, a heavy metalic door and no furniture besides the pod. ''Wait! Who am I? Oh! Now I remember!''


    His memories slowly returned, he was Mark, son of Maruk, the head of the Hima Feru, the Feru Clan, a major warrior clan of the Himanian Council.


    "Where are you father! You promised not to leave me! Where is he!" He was so afraid and conflicted that he started to punch the glass to get out."Dammit! Its so hard!" He screamed as kept trying to punch his way out.


    After some minutes of punching with no result in sight, three humanoids abruptly entered the room, two of them were wearing blue armor while the third person was simply wearing pants, black shoes and a white jacket.


    The warriors stood behind guarding the door, they seemed to be nervous at first but now relaxed as there was no problem to them in the room, the man in white spoke to Mark as he approached the stasis pod.


    "Young master, please calm down! It''s all alright, you have been sleeping for six years but you have awaken ahead of schedule due to a failure in the solar panels, I assure you that it will be fixed in a few moments and we will stay here to protect you!"


    Mark got confused at his words, since birth he had an unique sickness that made his body very weak and his father spent a large amount of wealth to help him, so after 10 years, the only solution found was a recently discovered nanite technology, these micro robotical beings would remove his sickness and restore him to the most perfect healthy being of the Himanian race, but the downside was that it would take 10 years and that he would have to be asleep for the entire time as it was risky to be awake while undergoing this treatment.


    "Did something happen?" Mark inquired the doctor. "Is the station under attack?"


    Hearing these words made the man rub his right hand on the back of the neck. "Well, you see..." The doctor turned for a second to the warriors behind him, thinking twice of what to say before facing Mark. "it wasn''t an attack, just a malfunction in the solar panels..." (Doctor)


    This made Mark very confused and a bit angry. "What about the reserve batteries? Are they not full? Do not tell me they also had a "MALFUNCTION"! And isn''t it DANGEROUS for me to be AWAKE? Where is my father! Call him! NOW!"


    His scream seemed to have the effected desired as both warriors and the doctor bowed their heads.


    "The energy of the reserve batteries was depleted, it was by your father''s command to use them to supply the 7th Armada! I assure you this won''t cause an issue as all the power that we have is being supplied to this room, it is enough to ensure your safety and while the treatment wont risk your life as it has reached a safe point, it is still incomplete. The only downside of you being awake is that it will be slower!"


    Markus raised an eyebrow at the man. "So does this mean that I can stay awake for the rest of the time?"


    "That could work, but then the treatment would last for another 40 years instead of the original 4..." (Doctor)


    ''40 YEARS! No way!''


    "Uh? Then I prefer to be asleep... also what has happened? Is the Himanian Council alright? Wait a second... since when does our Feru Clan have a 7th Armada? You''re telling me that we have two new Armadas? Are... are we at war?"


    This was strange for Mark as most Hima clans had three to five Armadas wich were positioned in a sector where the clans had their territories, for a clan to have a new armada only meant one thing of two things, either a new territory was gained or the mothership of an armada was lost, wich both of these required a new mothership to command a new armada to either reconquer a lost sector or secure a new territory.


    The Doctor smiled at Mark, wich made him relax for a bit. "Yes! We have two new motherships! From the news available to us, it''s confirmed that we are squashing the Kaross empire! Two full sectors have fallen into our hands! Not only that, even the Hima Patu and Hima Magu have each gained a new sector!"


    ''So a war started and we are winning? Even those Magu who mostly stay in their lab stations got a piece of the bounty? Ah! The Kaross sure are weak!''


    "Those are great news indeed! I guess by the time of my full recovery the Kaross empire will be no more and half the galaxy will be in Himanian''s hands!"


    "Oh, wait..." The doctor suddenly put his right hand on his right ear and turned around as it seemed that someone was calling him. "Yes, yes, the solar panels are working again?" He murmured and then turn again to Mark.


    "Full power is back! Sleep well young master!" (Doctor)


    "What? But I still have much to..." Before Mark could finish his sentence, the effects of the pod started to kick in and he had immediately fallen asleep.


    Year 8019, 19 years after Mark was born, 1 year before treatment was fully completed.


    Sector 3, Unda System, Unda 3, Medium research space station Kalypso.


    Mark suddenly woke up as his stasis pod forcefully opened, making him fall straight into the floor.


    "What the hell!" He screamed while rubbing his knees that had been scratched a bit from his fall and as he slowly stood up checking his surroundings, the previous white lights of the white room were shining red as an alarm sounded out loud.


    ''Something is wrong! This time we must be under attack!'' So he thought as suddenly two Feru soldiers entered the room, one stood guard at the entrance and the other approached Mark.


    The soldier opened his visor and spoke to him. "Sir! We must evacuate the station at once! The system has been breached, and the Unda defense fleet is engaging the enemy!"


    Mark was shocked at his words. "What? How?"


    "We don''t know sir, all that we know is that suddenly a Kaross Dreadnought warped in with it''s escorts! Can you walk? If not I will help you!" (Soldier 1)


    "I can walk, don''t worry!" Mark told the man as he tried to take a step, only to fall on him.


    "Don''t push it sir, you are still recovering! Here, let me put your arm around me, I will support you!" The soldier said as he put his rifle on his back.


    "Thank you..." Mark said while being supported by him.


    "It''s my duty!" (Soldier)


    The group then prepared to leave the room while hearing an announcement from the command bridge of the station.


    "Attention! Scanners show a Kaross bomber strike group inbound! The outer perimeter defense stations Safira and Keystone have launched their fighter squadrons to intercept them!"


    "They are already so close!" (Soldier 2)


    "Take me to the hangar!" (Mark)


    "Yes Sir!" (Soldier 1)


    The trio kept walking to the end of the floor, entered one of the elevators of the station and as the door closed another announcement came in.


    "Enemy bombers destroyed! Safira station destroyed! Keystone station weapon systems damaged and offline! Enemy frigates with fighter escorts inbound to Kalypso! Recalling all fighters to defend Kalypso!"


    "Bastards!" (Soldier 1)


    "Why hasn''t the defensive fleet been recalled? The dreadnought isn''t fast enough to enter the inner system and it cant warp in since its still recharging, also this station has an anti-hyperdrive system!" (Mark)


    "But sir, the dreadnought with it''s hypercore can send up to frigates and cruisers at will after the AHS is disabled by the first waves..." (Soldier 1)


    ''Fuck! As far as I know, the defensive fleet is composed of frigates and a few light cruisers so they will probably be smashed like ants by the dreadnought!''


    The elevator door opened, and the trio left with haste entering a long corridor. "Almost there, sir!" (Soldier 2)


    "Attention to all garrison troops! A Kaross fighter rammed into our AHS! Fighter squadrons down to 20%! Enemy frigates have been identified as Kaross troop carrier frigates! All troopers prepare for direct contact! Drop pods incoming to the upper floors! Do not let them reach the hangar!" (broadcast voice)


    The trio heard the message and doubled their steps, reaching the middle of the corridor from where it had a large window, from there Mark and the soldiers could see the battle that was occurring outside, 3 blue Hima fighters were clashing with a swarm of 12 red Kaross fighters and 3 red frigates.


    Sparkles and smoke could be seen leaking from one of the fighters, it was clear that it''s oxygen tank and some other inner systems were damaged, it wouldn''t hold for long and for Mark''s surprise, the fearless pilot was still dodging laser rounds, being pursued by 7 enemy fighters.


    ''I must get to the hangar! Dammit! They are outnumbered! Fuck!'' Mark kept cursing in his mind while walking with the help of the soldier and after few more steps he was again surprised and more angrier.


    Unabled to dodge the incoming fire, the pilot turned his fighter to the closest frigate and rammed into it''s bridge, bringing an explosion that took out 3 Kaross fighters.


    With this action, the two last allied fighters tried the same trick, making a second frigate explode, but unfortunately, the third and last pilot failed his target and he instead rammed one of the incoming drop pods.


    "By Sejaar! Incoming!" The second soldier screamed as he got behind Mark, one of the pods with it''s four metallic claws grabbed itself near the previous elevator, soon it cut an entrance and Kaross troopers started pouring from within into the corridor. "Go! I''ll hold them off!" He dropped to the floor and with his rifle showered the incoming enemies with laser blasts.


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    With no other option, Mark and the first soldier kept going and after two more steps a door to the right opened to a second corridor, from wich a squad of five Feru troopers could be seen running towards them.


    "Sir, are you alright?" The Leader of the squad inquired Mark who was still being helped by the first soldier.


    "Yes! But there are enemies and one ally behind us! Help him!" (Mark)


    "By your command!" The leader promptly answered and passed by them with his squad and joined the battle at the previous corridor.


    "We are almost there! Just at the next door, Sir!" (Soldier 1)


    At the same time, multiple shouts and laser blasts could be heard behind them. "FOR SEJAAR! HIMA FERU UNTIL THE END!" "MAN DOWN!" "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"


    The duo reached their destination, upon passing another door, they were finally in the hangar where ships could be seen docked and a few men stood outside them.


    "Why arent you fighting! Get those ships flying now!" (Mark)


    The pilots turned to the direction of the voice, only to stand in attention immediately after seeing it was Mark.


    "Sir! We were transfered! Ordered to await for your arrival! You are now our squadron lider!" (Pilot 1)


    "Squadron lider? Wait for me? Imagine if they had blown up the hangar door! You should have been outside fighting!" (Mark)


    "Commander we are in the hidden hangar! The enemy doesn''t know of it! They are mainly aiming at hangar 1 and 2!" (Pilot 2)


    ''Hidden hangar? Wait, there''s three hangars? If I recall, there was only one hangar! Oh Sejaar! I am so confused!''


    Mark took a quick glance at the ships that were now under his "command".


    Himanian Fighter/Interceptor - Light Class


    The small Himanian fighter, a fast craft, composed of a cockpit for one pilot at the front, additional systems in the middle and its engine on the back, for protection it has a large amount of armour wich surround these compartments from the sides, having what it seems 2 side wings on the back, on the front there''s two large pincers of same size of the cockpit that can be seen protecting the right and left size of the front. Bellow the cockpit is the best part, two large laser cannons ready to shoot the enemy into oblivion.


    With an overall size are 20 meters at length this is a fast deadly killing machine with only requiring a pilot.


    Himanian Bomber/Smasher - Light Class


    Unlike the fighter, the bomber has a traditional tail on the back. This ship is much slower since it has more armour making it more bulky, this makes the ship unable to dogfight against other light class ships, its body has also the regular cockpit on front, with systems in the middle and an engine at the back, its armour covers most of the middle as it is where the ammunition of this craft is being held, on the sides, unlike the wings and pincers of the fighter, the bomber has what it looks like an arm with a long elbow on its right and left side, making the ship look like an H, at the front tip of these arms is where its weapon can fire one torpedo per salvo.


    With an overall length size of 25 meters and having a crew of 2, 1 pilot and 1 gunner, it flies like a turtle but stings like a ramming bull.


    Himanian Heavy Corvette - Light Class


    The biggest ship of the light class, this corvette has a mixed shape, imagine if someone picked the fighter, removed the engine and added an extra part on the end being the tail of the bomber and you got yourself a basic corvette, but this isn''t the basic, this is the heavy corvette, armed with two large dual plasma turrets, one on the top middle and one down in the belly of the ship. The armor covers almost the entire ship and also grows some extra in the middle giving it short wings, wich from these wings, 4 missile tubes in each can be seen.


    The heavy corvette has a length of 40 meters and requires at least 4 crewmen but can hold 8 people.


    ''From what I recall, plasma is twice more powerfull than the laser, torpedos are 4 times larger than missiles so the bombers should take out the frigate and the corvette the fighters?'' He finished glacing my ships and crew, 1 heavy corvette, 2 interceptors, 2 smashers, 5 pilots and 2 gunmen crew.


    Mark raised his eyebrows now that he now noticed it. "Aren''t we missing people? We need at least 3 more gunmen, where are them?"


    "They got stuck in the upper floors!" (Pilot 1)


    ''Dammit!'' Mark looked around, most of the staff was in the other hangars, but he still noticed the two engineers who where finishing loading ammo on the corvette. "Alright, I want those interceptors and bombers filled and ready! You there will pilot the corvette alright?"


    "Commander! So you noticed I was a corvette pilot? But what about the gunmen?" (Pilot 1)


    "We take him and them!" Mark said while pointing at the soldier and the two enginers who had just finished their job.


    "Yes Sir!" The pilot immediately went to his ship while the soldier shouted to the engineers who rubbed their necks as they were confused at Mark''s words. "You heard him! C''mon! Or do you want to die in this station?" (Soldier 1)


    Everyone quickly got into their ships and soon enough the engines started their roar.


    "This is the Captain of the Kalypso, is the VIP with you?" As Mark entered the corvette, he heard a voice coming from the front of the cockpit from wich the pilot responded.


    "VIP secured! Requesting for the hangar 3''s door to open and for our squadron to depart at once!" (Pilot 1)


    "Request granted! The door will open soon! Be advised, auto-destruction will be activated in 3 minutes! Our last defensive turrets took out most of the enemy fighters! Only one frigate and three fighters remain, I advice taking them out before warping out! I repeat again, you have 3 minutes! That''s your window of opportunity!"


    "Auto-destruction? Is there no other way?" (Pilot 1)


    "No! A message has been received from the Unda defense fleet! They have failed to breach the dreadnought''s shield but at least held this enemy capital ship as much as they could! By estimation, enemy reinforcements will warp in less than 2 minutes! They must not get their hands on our Clan''s research!"


    The 5 ships moved out of the hangar into space and turned up, the last ships of the first enemy fleet could be seen as they remained focused on hitting the upper hangars unaware of the enemies emerging from below.


    "You three! One on the missile control system and the others on each of the turrets now! Aim for the fighters!" (Mark)


    """Yes Sir!""" The soldier and engineers each got into a weapon''s console trying to aim at the enemies, the soldier was on the left side of the pilot while the engineers chairs were each on the sides of Mark''s seat.


    Mark sat down on the extra chair in the middle, it seemed like it was prepared for him as this item lacked in other corvettes, on the right arm of the chair was a communication device and on the left was a small keyboard from wich Mark pressed a button, making screen appeared before him, it was a map of nearby allies/enemies.


    "Bombers hit the Frigate with all you got! The corvette will aim at the enemy fighters! Fighters stay 100 meters behind us! If anyone still stands after the first salvo! You will finish any fighter that doesn''t get destroyed! Is that clear?" Mark sent his commands trough the comunication device.


    ""Roger! Aiming for the frigate!""


    ""Copy that! Staying behind 100 meters and kill what survives first salvo!""


    The engagement started as the bombers and corvette fired the first salvo and continued upwards passing trough the enemy fleet.


    The bomber torpedos were effective, four 10 meter long torpedos ripped the frigate apart while eight missiles and four plasma blasts flew into the enemy fighters. While most of the missiles and plasma failed their targets, two missiles and one plasma blast were enough to kill the enemy fighters, forcing the two Hima Feru fighter pilots who were still on the back to fly around the bits of debris.


    "Commander, we are clearing out of the station to warp near the Undar Prime''s Hypergate!" (Pilot 1)


    "Don''t you need to have permission from them?" (Mark)


    "No Commander, any force under your command is cleared to use it at will!" (Pilot 1)


    "Let us depart then. The station is lost..." Mark comented as he saw as most of the station was heavily damaged.


    The Pilot nodded and the squadron stood in V formation with the corvette at the front and the interceptors in the rear. "Entering hyperspace in 3...2...1..." (Pilot 1)


    Slowly 5 windows big enough for the ships appeared on their front and moved forward until reaching the end of the ships only to disappear alongside them.


    Inside the command room of station Kalypso.


    "So he left safely..." An old man in blue uniform and a blue beret murmured to himself.


    "Captain! Only my squad remains to defend this room!" A trooper in blue armor informed him while two others were busy welding the closed door.


    "If we die, then we take out as many as we can!" (Old man)


    "Yes Captain! Fa... Sir it has been an honor!" (Trooper)


    "Likewise, my son..." He responded while taking out his sidearm.


    "Captain incoming enemy ships!" The trooper screamed as the scanners announced the enemies arrival. Several light class ship squadrons, 15 Frigates and 3 Cruisers warped in and prepared to board the station.


    "They will get this station under my dead body!" The Old man shouted while pressing the auto-destruction button, giving a countdown of 10 seconds peace for everyone in the room.


    Slowly one explosion appeared from the middle of the station, then a second one from the top, followed by third one as finaly the station exploded looking like the small star, carrying every ship in the vicinity to it''s demise.

 Chapter 2

    Sector 3 - Undar system - Space above Undar Prime


    Five blue windows emerged above the stations on Undar Prime and from them, Mark''s squadron arrived at their new destination.


    "Good job everyone! Now pilo..." (Mark) "wait, what were your names again? Also does anyone got an extra pair of clothes?"


    Mark only now realised that with what happened, he didn''t even knew the names of his men nor he had any clothes.


    "My name''s Sebastian, a rank 3 Ace Pilot, regarding your clothes, they were in the Kalypso station but I think once we dock again, they will provide you with new ones." Said the corvette pilot.


    "Sir! I am cadet David, Sir!" (Soldier)


    "Charles..." "Bob..." The engineers slowly mumbled.


    As the crew told their names, a sudden voice sounded from the comms. "This Vice Admiral Vulore calling the escort squadron, is the VIP with you?" Hearing his words, Mark pressed one of the buttons on the chair. "This is Mark, son of Maruk, I request permission to dock my squadron on Zeus."


    "Sending you the coordinate to hangar 2, I ask you to meet me at the command center as soon as possible."(Vulore)


    "Will be there once I get some clothes!"(Mark)


    "Clothes? Copy, see you soon..." (Vulore)


    With this, the squadron turned downwards and started their descend.


    The view made Mark a bit worried as his ships passed the four perimeter defense stations and approached the large Zeus station orbiting Unda Prime, the tropical planet populated by several cities. The Zeus station, unlike the Kalypso, was a military station wich also served as a shipyard, it was in charge with building, refueling and repairing the larger vessels in the solar system. It was divided into two sections, the center body and the large ring surrounding the middle of the center body. The center body was divided into several floors, each being used for either storing resources or crew quarters and in the heart of it, was the command center. A third of the large ring was occupied by the shipyard construction facility, in the other two-thirds 4 hangar entrances could be seen while the rest of it''s body was filled with armour, also above this part of the station was the place where larger ships would dock. Most of it''s armaments were torpedo tubes, missile launchers, plasma and laser turrets that spread around the entire station. Below the station was the most important building in the solar system, the Unda Hypergate, wich allowed for ships to travel to other Hypergates on other systems.


    In the outer perimeter 4000 meters above Zeus, were 4 defense stations forming the first main line of the defense, each station had a small hangar that could launch a squadron and are equipped with a small number of laser turrets and missile launchers.


    While passing the stations, three squadrons of three scout ships passed by Mark''s squadron heading outside the perimeter defense, additionally, several civilian ships could be seen forming a line near the Hypergate as it was being turned online. The squadron was halfway to Zeus station and the hypergate turned on, from it, two large vessels appeared, they were heavy cruisers which were escorting a carrier following behind them, once they cleared the way, the civilian ships started to travel into the gate.


    Docked at the station, was what was left of the Unda defensive fleet, two cruisers and 7 frigates, all of these ships were damaged from their previous battle, in the shipyard, three frigates could be seen being rushed into final production. At this time, all repair corvettes and even the mining drones of the station were working at 100% at repairing the damaged fleet.


    The squadron docked inside the hangar. "Sebatian, take care of the ships and crew ok?" (Mark)


    "Are we to be on standby?" (Sebastian)


    "Yes, we don''t know when that dreadnought will arrive, so we must be prepared!" (Mark)


    Sebastian nodded his head, but in his mind like the rest of the crew, were wondering what they could do, even with the newest reinforcements that came in from the hypergate, a dreadnought is a monster ship with 3,200 meters length, 800 meters high and it comes with a combined weaponry of massive turrets wich a single one of these could easily dwarf a corvette, just this capital ship would be a large challenge, but what about it''s escort fleet?


    "David, go get me some clothes, then we shall visit the command center of this station." (Mark)


    "At once, Sir!" The cadent trooper ran outside and returned after 5 minutes with a blue shirt with golden stripes on the shoulders and black pants. This was a navy officer''s uniform without the markings of rank. "Here ya go Sir. This is what I could find..."


    "It''s comfortable enough..." Mark said while dressing up. "C''mon, follow me!" He waved at David wich promptly followed him.


    Mark and David went with no problems and with the help of the station''s crew, the duo entered the elevator that lead to the Command Center.


    ''I wonder how many know about the treatment?'' Mark wondered about how much detail was shared outside the station he had been hibernating as it seemed that everyone here Zeus that he had seen knew him. ''Perhaps it''s the hair?'' One of the side effects of the treatment was his hair. Every Hima Feru Clan has red hair, while the other clans have other hair colors and the only Himanian to be known to have black hair was Sejaar, he to the Himanians was the father god who helped them reach their utopia, the planet Hima. He was known for two things, a great leader and a womanizer as it was believed the clans themselves each originated from one of his wives, Feru, Lunu, Deru, Kalu, Patu and Magu. The only Clan that did not follow the same pattern, was the Hima Sejaard Clan. This clan was the guardian of Himanian history, followed the teachings of Sejaar and was composed by the most religious Himanians from the other Clans.


    These eight Clans formed the Himanian Council, one of the six most powerfull factions in the galaxy.


    ''Now I have black hair, but I guess it could be worst? I could be a Kaross, all baldy looking like a space mole rat!''


    "Mark! Is that you?" A voice suddenly called him. "Uh? You are?" (Mark) Just as the duo reached the door to the command center, an old man in uniform spoke to him and to Mark, the man seemed familiar.


    "You don''t remember me? Well, it has been a decade, but I don''t think I got too old?" (old man)


    "Oh! Uncle Howard? Is that you? But what are you doing here? Were you not supposed at the Refuge borders?" (Mark)


    "Let''s just say that I took a short vacation, alright? I have been there for almost two decades dealing with pirate scum. A man needs some rest don''t you think little one?" (Uncle Howard)


    "I''m not little anymore!" (Mark)


    "You might have grown, but inside you''re still a child, so what do you think of my gift?" (Uncle Howard)


    "Gift? What gift?" (Mark)


    "Didn''t you say you wanted a carrier when you were little?" (Uncle Howard) "That one is now yours!" The man said while pointing at the window on his left where it showed the heavy cruisers escorting the carrier.


    "That, that''s mine?" (Mark)


    "Yes, crew included!" (Uncle Howard)


    "Thank you! Thank you! But does it include the heavy cruisers?" Mark inquired with shiny eyes.


    Admiral Howard rubbed the back of his head. "It is not that I would mind not giving them, but it is still too soon for you to have that kind of firepower, originally they came with me as my escort, but with the intel of the dreadnought... Look, just come inside with me, let me introduce to the rest of the folks." He waved at Mark while the door opened.


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    Inside the room at the center was a round table with several chairs around it, three men who sat there immediately rose up when they saw Howard.


    "Welcome to the Unda system, Admiral Howard!" The three saluted him.


    "At ease, gentlemen, this is my nephew Mark, as you may know he was hibernating on the Kalypso." (Admiral Howard)


    The man on the right was the first to speak. "Greetings, I am Captain Andrew. I welcome you to my station." Then the one in the middle. "We have spoke earlier, but I would like to introduce again myself, I am Vice Admiral Vulore, the one in charge of the fleets of Unda, I am glad you managed to escape and promptly join us."


    The third man almost busted laughing. "Ah! I wouldn''t say escape, considering the footage, he blew the enemy away, not bad considering he''s mentally 10! Oh, by the way, I am Captain Sewale, in charge of the stations in Unda 2, nice to meet you!"


    "It''s an honor! But I didn''t do much, it was the crew of my ships and besides, the enemy was already weakened by the brave defenders." (Mark)


    "The true lies in between, but I am grateful too as the captain of the Kalypso uploaded all the research that he could put into your corvette, I already copied it, it will be very useful." (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    ''Why do they all seem so calm?''


    "May I ask what plans you have against the dreadnought and it''s fleet?" (Mark)


    "Let us all sit down first." His uncle suggested to the officers.


    While they sat in the center of the room, many staff could be seen in working in their seats, shining consoles and panels would release tiny bip sounds from time to time.


    "So who would like to start?" (Admiral Howard)


    "I will if you don''t mind?" (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    Uncle Howard nodded at the man wich made him release a cough.


    "First of all, at 04:00 Himanian, contact was lost with the second patrol fleet and at 06:00 two scout squadrons were dispatch to find them, only to discover debris, the patrol fleet was composed of two front frigates and one missile frigate, this was only our first loss, afterwards our perimeter defensive station Grizzly at Unda 5 and it''s fighter squadron went dark, we assumed the worst, so I left with everything that we had available."


    Vulore sighed. "Five cruisers and twenty-five frigates warped into Unda 4, aiming to intercept the enemy, at 07:26, a massive object warped near my fleet, it was a Kaross Dreadnought, not only that, it was accompanied by two carriers, four cruisers and a large number of frigates, we tried to at least damage the large beast, but it''s shield was too hard, our cruisers would eventually destroy the shield but with just one salvo, our frontline of seven frigates and a cruiser were lost to the dread... We confirmed that the enemy capital ship had two large ion cannons on the frontsides of the ship, these are enough to kill cruisers in one shot!"


    "So it isn''t a broadside battleship?" (Admiral Howard)


    There were two classifications for battleships. Some would focus on the frontside, so they would fight with their front to the enemy as they have cannons and armor at the front, while broadside ships fight by turning one of the sides to the enemy so they can use a large line of multiple turrets.


    "That was my first assumption as there were many large turrets on the sides..." (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    "That firepower... I do wonder how the hell did it get into sector 3?" (Captain Andrew)


    "Let us leave that question for the future, so what happened next?" (Admiral Howard)


    "In the end, we tried to face it from it''s back, only to be intercepted by it''s escorts." (Vice Admiral Vulore) "So in the last second I changed priorities and all ships focused on the carriers, taking them out at the cost of one more of my cruisers and two frigates, afterwards I ordered an emergency jump to Hima Prime, most ships managed to succeed with the exception of another cruiser and five frigates that were KIA before being able to complete the jump."


    "At least with those carriers out, there will be less light ships, so who''s next?" (Admiral Howard)


    "Ah, I guess it''s my turn, once I got word about what happened, I have ordered for several probes to be dispatched to Unda 3 and 4" (Captain Sewale) "As suggested by Admiral Howard, we evacuated Unda 2, it went without no issues, it''s just a mining planet after all. Also before the last ships left, my corvette minelayers had mined the entire area around the stations and extra probes have been positioned in hidden places around the planet space. The intel that I got from the probes that I sent to Unda 3 were very useful, while they were destroyed in just a few minutes after arrival, the scan of the area inquicates that the Kalypso station did indeed clean a large number of enemy ships. The Dreadnought was spotted in Unda 3 with the current escorts, 1 cruiser and 15 frigates. Unfortunately, the probes did not have enough time to scan for the light class ships. Regarding Unda 4, I found nothing, only a little debris."


    "With luck, the Kaross will move into Unda 2 before Unda Prime." (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    "Yes, we might get a few extra kills if they do so, but it wont be enough for the dreadnought, for that we will need every ship available, not only that, we need to focus on it''s rear." (Admiral Howard)


    "That is the problem, most of my fleet is either gone or heavily damaged, any ETA on the repairs, Andrew?" (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    "Regarding your ships, The Exalted and The Ruthless Cruisers will be fully operational very soon, but the frigates will take longer, I might stop the work in half of them and focus on the other half if you wish?" (Captain Andrew)


    "Admiral, what do you think?" (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    "Don''t, keep working on all ships, at least make sure they can all properly fly, at this point, because of the dread, two ships with half the weapons operational is better than one with all weapons." (Admiral Howard)


    "What about me?" Mark suddenly broke his silence towards the four officers.


    "To be honest, I was thinking of evacuating you?" (Admiral Howard)


    "No!" (Mark)


    "Sigh, You can stay, just make sure you don''t get near the dreadnought." (Admiral Howard)


    "Okay, oh! What about the three frigates I saw being built at the shipyard? What are they? I never saw their configuration!" (Mark)


    "They are the first Ion Frigates in the Unda system. Ion technology was recently found, there arent many of them in our clan." (Captain Andrew)


    "Are they more powerfull than plasma?" (Mark)


    "Not exactly, I would say that plasma and Ion do the same damage to armour, but Ion, unlike plasma can drown an enemies shield really fast, the downsize is it''s energy consumption wich forces a large charging time." (Captain Andrew)


    "So why don''t we use them against the dreadnought?" (Mark)


    "Because it will be hard to point the Ion cannon while trying to dodge it''s escorts." (Vice Admiral Vulore)


    "Even so, they might be useful, just let''s get what we can until the enemies arrival." (Admiral Howard)


    The discussion went on, civilian evacuation was still underway and a request for reinforcements was sent to every solar system in sector 3.